BMPEW 19

Chapter 19

I waited in the room while the Head of House checked on Lord Abelus’s condition. It was well past midnight when I was summoned again.

The atmosphere in the central hall was unusually heavy.

Before the Head of House, seated at the head of the table, stood only two people—Scaevola and me.

The head of house didn’t speak a word until Gordio entered and reported the situation.

“…Therefore, I ask that you mediate between Lady Calidora and Scaevola.”

But before the Head of House could respond, Scaevola shouted first.

“I don’t want a simple mediation—I demand an official trial, Head of House!”

“Against your younger cousin?”

“Yes, please! Lady Calidora falsely accused me first. It’s bad enough that I was anguished over my injured friend, but now I’m branded with the shameful accusation that I was the one who hurt him.”

Scaevola lowered his stance and pleaded his case with desperation.

“She shouldn’t be let off just because she’s young. Please correct her behavior with your wisdom, Head of House!”

Behind Scaevola, his parents, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, were watching from behind a column.

Scaevola glanced calmly toward me, confirming that no one had come for me, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

After listening to both of us, the Head of House summoned the Vellicus siblings from their sleep to testify.

“Scaevola did go out to the training ground during break time and came back. He said he went to the well to wash his face. I think that’s true. His face and clothes were soaking wet.”

“We always leave the scroll on the stump… But how long is this going to take? I want to sleep…”

“Um… I really don’t remember anything else. The fight? I’m not sure either… But still, I don’t think Scaevola would’ve done anything bad.”

Quick-witted Vellichia pretended not to remember anything about the fight.

But Vellicus was too young to catch on.

“The young master said my brother was brave and then sizzled his arm.”

“W-What did you say?”

“He sizzled his arm!”

Scaevola’s family immediately shouted and rushed out.

“Let me see, child. How could the young master do this to you?”

“Head of House, as this child’s father, my heart is breaking. Please take action!”

The hall quickly descended into chaos.

Those who had remained neutral were now clearly showing their exhaustion at how things had spiraled.

It felt like nothing I said would be taken seriously anymore.

“Silence.”

At the Head of House’s single word, all voices fell quiet.

“It seems difficult to judge that this incident was clearly Scaevola’s fault.”

It looked like the Head of House was trying to wrap things up.

As I gripped the hem of my dress tightly and bowed my head, he looked at me.

“Do you have anything else to say, Calidora?”

“I don’t… have anything to say…”

Unlike Scaevola, I stood alone in the corner and let my voice trail off.

“…Father.”

As I said that, I looked up at the Head of House with teary eyes.

The sudden word startled everyone. They gasped and glanced at him.

With tears streaming down my face, I walked toward Lord Tiberius.

Limp.

Limp.

Because of the injury from earlier, even a few steps felt like a long journey.

Everyone held their breath and watched me in silence.

As I approached, as if to throw myself into his arms, the Head of House visibly flinched in a rare moment of confusion.

He gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, unsure how to react.

But once I reached him, I suddenly stopped crying, turned, and faced the crowd.

“I don’t need words. I have evidence.”

I pulled out the scroll of Lord Abelus that I had hidden inside my clothes.

Fools. Did you really think I would stir up all this without evidence?

When Scaevola saw what I was holding, his face turned pale as a corpse.

He must’ve thought it had burned in Abelus’s flames.

But all clothing made in the House of Ignitus is treated with divine power to make it fire-resistant.

Right after I noticed something strange with the enchantment circle, I used all my strength to shove it under my skirt during the chaos.

I ended up losing Lord Abelus because of that decision, but still—

“Bring it here.”

The Head of House unfolded the scroll. A distinct scratch ran across it like it had been cut in a single stroke.

“L-Lord, that…!”

Scaevola ran toward him, aghast.

“If you have anything to explain, go ahead.”

“T-This… This wasn’t me. I have no idea what this is about. Please believe me.”

Unlike before, Scaevola was stammering severely. It was clear he was hiding something.

“M-Maybe it just got scratched by accident… Or someone was just playing a prank…”

The Head of House’s expression turned sour.

Maybe thinking he wasn’t being believed, Scaevola quickly added,

“M-Maybe it was Vellicus! That kid loves pranks…”

“Huh? Me?”

Poor Vellicus, who had been dozing off in the corner, was suddenly hit by lightning. But his sister wasn’t about to sit quietly.

“Hey, are you insane?”

“Vellichia, mind your tone with the Head of House!”

“How dare you blame my brother! I wasn’t going to say anything, but—Head of House, my brother didn’t get caught up unfairly! The young master mocked him every time he made a mistake, calling him a monster who couldn’t even control his powers!”

“Vellichia, you’ll have your turn to speak. Wait.”

The Head of House tried to stop her, but Vellichia didn’t hold back.

“Try being called a monster for two years—anyone would’ve hit back! Vellicus may be a little slow, but do you think he’d mess around with a scroll like that?!”

“Silence!”

Only when the Head of House roared did Vellichia shut her mouth. Sent back to a corner, she lowered her head and let her tears fall.

“…Sniff.”

She had spoken up for her brother, but she was clearly scared too.

I had planned to wait until the adults analyzed the scroll—but seeing how innocent people were being dragged into it, I figured it was best to end this quickly.

I grabbed the Head of House’s robes and climbed up the armrest of his chair with some effort.

“Give me that.”

I wanted to demonstrate a good method to determine who had made the scratch.

The scratch started from the upper left and ended at the bottom right.

“From here to here—it’s a smooth slash like this.”

If you looked closely, the line carved into the parchment curved slightly inward on the lower left.

In other words, the person who made the scratch was left-handed.

I raised my left hand and mimed the motion of scratching.

“You hold it like this and scratch like this.”

And “Scaevola” is a name traditionally given to left-handed children.

Understanding what I meant, the owner of the name began to tremble.

“I-It wasn’t me. I didn’t… Really… N-No one saw, right? So…”

As Scaevola kept mumbling like a fool, Gordio finally spoke up.

“No one saw? Do you truly believe that?”

His voice was devoid of emotion.

“What if someone did see it? Wouldn’t that change everything?”

“…Ha.”

Finally, Scaevola bowed his head deeply before the Head of House.

“…I have committed… an unforgivable sin.”